Jenice Groth of the Dance Street Studio in Lapeer, Michigan, says their studio is different from others because it is a professional school of dance with many instructors offering many styles of dance.. Also, they do not dictate a color code of clothing for students. Although they have set guidelines, especially for ballet, they allow students to express their individuality by wearing color and design choices of their preference. Samantha, Jenice’s daughter also works as an instructor at Dance Street Studio. Samantha is in charge of many competitive classes; she has had 15 years of dance experience and 10 years of experience teaching dance.
At Dance Street each instructor is qualified in the areas in which they teach, which the studio believes sets them apart, as they offer “the most variety.” Jenice, herself, has had over 22 years of dance and gynnastics experience and over 12 years of teaching experience.
Jenice and her instructors have various methods she employs to keep her dancers motivated. She may talk with them about their dance routine for recitals and performances in order to keep them on track and focused on the end result. Competition students will be reminded of upcoming competitions. Also, Jenice believes keeping dance fun while still learning also helps to keep them motivated.
Jenice has had many proud moments when coaching. She loves watching her dancers/students grow in so many ways! She has had proud moments when students reach a goal. She has had proud moments at competitions – not necessarily when a trophy is received but on the growth she sees in her students. Her proudest moments are those when a student expresses gratitude and appreciates and understands what their instructors are doing for them. This touches her heart and makes her so very proud
to be doing what she does.
The biggest mistakes Jenice sees dancers make when competing actually seems to be the little things that hold dancers back, like sickling the foot, forgetting to point the toes, not stretching completely into a move, not giving it that extra something. With competitive students, critiques are gone over with the students – showing the students that what their instructors have been saying is usually what the judges are also seeing. Repetition and reminders are key!
Jenice believes the “must have” dancewear items every dancer needs consists of necessities like the correct dance shoes for each class, tights, leotards, dance shorts, and hair ties! Although she doesn’t know if “hair tie” is categorized as a dancewear item, she believes it should be. Dance Street keeps new hair ties available (and goes through them like crazy) as many students forget them and must have their hair pulled back.
As far as goals for this year, Jenice is “stepping up a notch” for competitive classes and will be recommending more competitive classes to those that qualify based on their technique, abilities, and strong points. These extra comp classes will also be going to competition, allowing some of their competitive dancers to compete in multiple areas of dance. Her other goal is to continue monitoring classes and to ensure teachers are pushing all of their students to their utmost potential. Dance Street is the place for Dance & Fitness. Dance Street wants to make everyone aware of the benefits of fitness for the entire family and recently added more to their fitness options. These fitness classes include: YOGA, Dance Aerobics, and Strength Training.
Jenice created Dance Street Studio because she always believed in the art of dance. As a child, she was in dance herself but too shy for competition. She always wished someone would’ve given her more drive, more push. Her daughter started dance, as well as competitive dance, at an early age. Jenice was assisting and teaching at dance studios part time to help pay her daughter’s way through dance and competitions. She had her college business degree and was working part time, as well as having her own business at the time. After years of teaching, she decided that it was time to open her own dance school because she wanted the bigger picture for them, as well as for her students. It was time to make her other business part time and to open her dance studio as her full time business! She also felt a need for their small town to have a professional school of dance with more variety and many qualified instructors to pave the way for that! She established the studio in 2009 and after only one year was able to move into a larger space! Going on their sixth season, they continue to grow and will always be dedicated to their students.
Visit them online at http://www.dancestreetstudio.com and “like” them on Facebook.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Dance Street Studio or Jenice Groth.
Dance Street Studio & Jenice Groth cares about all the students. As a dance mom for 15 years I appreciate a nice calm waiting room and a happy smiling child at the end of class. Jenice is also involved with many community activities and the dancers are able to perform for all their friends and families.
My granddaughter is going on her 5th year at Dance Street. She joined the competition team four years ago and started doing solos as well. It would not have happened if not for Jenice and Miss Samantha seeing the potential in my granddaughter. They give her guidence and confidence in herself. This year she begins a new journey into new genres and she is really excited.